Vlak landschap met een bomengroep 1883 - 1922

This is a charcoal drawing of a flat landscape with trees, done by Johanna van de Kamer at some point in her career. The marks are laid down swiftly and economically. You can see the texture of the paper coming through. It’s a great reminder that drawing is a process of decision-making, a conversation between hand, eye, and material. Look at how the artist renders the trees, especially the cluster on the left. There's a real tension between representation and abstraction. You can feel the charcoal dragging across the page. The softness of the medium allows for subtle gradations of tone, creating depth and atmosphere with an economy of mark making. You can see van de Kamer wrestling with form and light. This work reminds me of landscapes by Symbolist artists like Odilon Redon. There’s the same interest in mood and atmosphere, the same willingness to let the image hover between the seen and the unseen. It’s a reminder that art doesn’t have to be about answers. Sometimes, the most interesting thing is the questions it asks.